Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride
by Kasigi Omi
Summary: Everyone is getting married! Except for Duo and Heero, that is. Shounen ai. (2+1 and 3+4)


Note: The last Gundam Wing story I have written as of this point, and maybe forever. I thought it was funny anyway. The bishies aren't mine. Let's just say a lot of my cousins have been getting married lately soooo..  
  
  
  
Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride.  
  
  
  
"We got another one, Heero!" Duo's voice announced as he closed the door behind him after getting the mail.  
  
Heero wandered into the room. "Another letter from a college?"  
  
"Letter from a college? We get those?" Duo looked at his best friend quizzically.  
  
The Japanese boy shrugged. "I do."  
  
Duo snorted. "Figures. Anyway, that's not it. It's another wedding invitation."  
  
"Who's getting married now?"  
  
The longhaired American tore the envelope open and read the neat script. "Relena."  
  
"Relena!?" Heero couldn't quite contain the shock he felt.  
  
"Yeah, and not to you."  
  
"Are you sure? Did you read the groom's name? She might have done this as an elaborate plot or something.." Heero yanked the invitation from Duo's hands and studied it.  
  
Duo laughed. "No plot. I've heard about this guy on the news. He's another rich, pacifist ruler. Just the sort of crap she loves." Noticing that Heero was still staring at the invitation in shock, he placed his hand on the Japanese boy's shoulder. "I know this must be a shock to you. After all, the girl's been stalking you for close to ten years now."  
  
Eyes wide and showing signs of shimmering, Heero looked at Duo, then flung his arms around the American mans shoulders and laughed joyfully. "It's over! She's finally over me! No more moving from place to place to avoid her! No more seeing that thrice damned pink limo following me down the street! No more listening to her shout my name! I'm free!"  
  
"Uh, that's great pal. Could ya let go now? Need to breath.."  
  
Heero promptly released Duo. "Gomen. I'm just so happy."  
  
"Hm. Considered the Perfect Soldier as recently as five years ago, and now, at age twenty-four, he pulls this."  
  
"I know what it means to be happy," Heero almost pouted.  
  
"Yeah, I know you do. Now. You had no idea before."  
  
"Then I moved in with you and I experienced all kinds of new emotions," Heero explained as Duo marked down the date of Relena's wedding on their 'Mobile Suits of the Colonies' calendar. Duo had wanted a swimsuit calendar, but Heero had refused. Eventually they had settled on the one they had now.  
  
"Oh? And what emotions did you learn?"  
  
Heero got the distinct impression that Duo was teasing him, but he chose to ignore it. "Lots of emotions. Irritation. Anger. Frustration. Annoyance.."  
  
"Anything good?"  
  
"Not from you."  
  
Duo pretended to be hurt. "Gee, thanks. What a great friend you are, Yuy."  
  
"I do try," Heero said quietly.  
  
The braided Preventer smiled and slid his arms loosely around Heero's neck, then rested his forehead against Heero's. "I know. And you are a very good friend. Very loyal and protective." He pulled back slightly. "How many people have friends who would kill someone for them? Or even better, die for them?" A slight smirk crossed his face, "Course, you would probably die for just about anything. To save an insect from hitting the windshield, for example."  
  
"Duo, you know I'm not that suicidal anymore," Heero admonished.  
  
Duo's bangs tangled with Heero's as he leaned closer again. "I know. I'm just teasing." They stayed like that, foreheads nearly touching, staring at each other, until the moment was interrupted by the ringing of a phone.  
  
"Dammit," Duo swore as he went to answer it. "Hello?...Hey Noin..Please tell me you're joking.. I'm serious. Man, I hate dressing up!. No, I'm really happy for you.. Seriously..Me? Probably never..We'll be waiting for the invitation. And congratulations..See ya tomorrow."  
  
Duo hung up and turned to Heero with a sigh of longsuffering, before he walked over and marked another wedding on the calendar.  
  
  
  
"Okay, I want to count this," Duo said the next day at lunch. He was sitting at a table in a pizza place near the Preventers headquarters, with Heero, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei. "There's Wu and Sally, Hilde and James, Noin and Zechs, Relena and that Thomas guy, Lady Une and Treize." He paused in his counting to glance at Wufei. "How is he alive again?"  
  
Wufei shook his head. "I have no idea."  
  
"Huh. Well, anyway. There's Dorothy and Samantha and Catherine and Gavin."  
  
"Isn't that all we know?" Heero asked.  
  
"All we know from the war. Remember my friend Toby? Well, he's marrying Quatre's sister Shannon. And to think I set them up! The ingratitude!"  
  
"Don't you want them to be happy, Duo?" Heero persisted.  
  
"Of course I do! But how dare they go and decide to get married!"  
  
"Baka."  
  
"So that makes, what? Eight couples getting married in the next two years. I swear, if anyone else tells me they're getting married, I'm going to impale myself with." he looked around the table desperately before finding something and snatching it up. "A spoon!"  
  
"I thought you were going to say a herring," Heero murmured, catching the amused glance Duo shot him, before continuing his rant.  
  
"Eight couples is enough!"  
  
"Better make that nine, couples, Duo."  
  
Duo froze as he stared at Quatre. "No.."  
  
Blushing slightly, Quatre lifted his hand and showed Duo the small ring with the beautiful, perfect emerald set in it.  
  
"Trowa?" Quatre nodded and smiled as Trowa slid his arm around the smaller mans shoulders. Duo groaned. "Yeah, I'm very happy for you. Really. I mean it."  
  
"Duo, will you please put down the spoon and stop stabbing yourself with it?" Heero asked in concern, reaching out to pry it from Duo's fingers.  
  
  
  
"Really? Me? Your best man? Geez, Q, that's an honor, really."  
  
"So? Will you do it?" Quatre asked eagerly.  
  
"Course I will! What are friends for anyway?" Duo smiled and hugged him lightly. "Got a date set yet?"  
  
"Um.. no. We're still debating on that. I say sometime in spring, but he prefers fall, and it just goes downhill from there."  
  
"I'm sure you two will work something out. You always do. It's disgusting that way."  
  
"Glad to know you approve," Quatre laughed.  
  
"Well, sure. Hey. Let me guess. I see it now. Trowa's best man will be.Heero!"  
  
"Wow Duo! You're so smart!"  
  
"You know it, baby. Now let's go get some lunch to celebrate, ne?" Duo suggested, tossing his arm across Quatre's shoulders.  
  
Quatre put his arm around Duo's shoulders. No easy feat, considering Duo was significantly taller than he was. "Sounds good. Let's go!"  
  
  
  
"I'll do it, but, Trowa?  
  
Trowa glanced at Heero from across the coffee table in the employee lounge. "Hm?"  
  
"Why is everyone getting married all of a sudden?"  
  
Green eyes blinked in what passed for surprise. "You know what, Heero? I really don't know."  
  
Just then, Duo walked by the open doorway with Quatre. The longhaired baka was humming the music from the Twilight Zone, for some reason unknown to the two in the room. Heero and Trowa stared at each other, and then began laughing.  
  
  
  
"Okay, now look at this chart, Heero. This is all the people getting married, and this is us. Now watch how the best men line up." Duo began drawing lines on the piece of paper.  
  
"I'm serving as best man for Quatre, Wufei (and what a shock that was! Let me tell you!) and Toby. You're best man for Trowa. Zechs and Treize are holding the positions for each other. Quatre is best man for Dorothy and Trowa is best man for Gavin. Other then that, it's all guys we don't know. Man, I'm popular!" he suddenly exclaimed, staring at his chart.  
  
"Don't you think you're taking this a little far, Duo? You're acting obsessed."  
  
Duo glared at his friend and housemate. "Now, to look at the dates," he continued icily, pretending Heero hadn't interrupted. "The first one, Wu and Sally, is next month. After that is."  
  
"Is it normal for people to be getting married at this age?" Heero abruptly inquired.  
  
The American continued writing down dates as he replied. "Sure it is."  
  
"It's the common thing for people to do?"  
  
"Yeah." Duo paused to glance at him. "Is this about your compulsive desire to do everything you know of that is considered normal? Look, pal, don't even think about running out and marrying someone you hardly know just to be normal!"  
  
"I won't run out and marry someone I don't know!" Heero protested indignantly.  
  
"Good. See that you don't."  
  
They sat silently as Duo began comparing Honeymoon locations, occasionally muttering under his breath and sighing about how he had always wanted to go there, but had anyone asked him? No, thank you very much.  
  
"Duo?"  
  
"Hmmm?"  
  
"Will you marry me?"  
  
The pen Duo had been writing with slipped from his suddenly slackened fingers. "Say what?"  
  
"Will you marry me? I mean, it's normal for people our age to get married, and we're the only ones who aren't getting married and.." Heero realized he was rambling, but he was nervous, for some reason.  
  
"Woah, woah, woah. Calm down," Duo put his hands firmly on Heero's shoulders. "Do you mean it?"  
  
The nervous chattering stopped abruptly as Heero looked into Duo's eyes. "Yes," he breathed, and suddenly realized he meant it. He loved living with Duo, but he had always felt something was missing, and that empty place inside of him was only filled when he was alone with Duo, just being comfortable with him. And then there were the butterflies he felt in his stomach when Duo touched him, like he had the other day when Relena's wedding invitation had arrived. Not to mention the countless little things besides..  
  
"You really want to get married?"  
  
Heero placed his hands on top of Duo's hands where they rested on his shoulders. "I really mean it, Duo. I want an excuse to stay here, with you, forever."  
  
"Would it be enough for me to say that you never have to leave, or do you want the ring?"  
  
"If you just say that, you might get a girlfriend who moves in, or something. I'll still be here, but it won't be just us. Hell, I want everything. The ring, the ceremony, the cake, the best man.. the Honeymoon.."  
  
Duo's eyebrow quirked slightly and a small smile crept onto his face. "Why me?" he prodded.  
  
"Because I. Because I love you," Heero rushed to get the words out.  
  
The small smirk turned into a triumphant grin. "Well, if that's the case, I see we have no other choice. But why don't we try to do this properly, hm? I don't have a ring, but." Duo reached behind his neck and unclasped his cross necklace. Then he slid off of his chair and knelt in front of Heero, one hand holding the necklace, the other holding one of Heero's limp, slightly shaking, hands. "Heero Yuy, will you marry me?"  
  
"This is ridiculous," Heero wanted to say. "You're teasing me." A thousand responses ran through his brain, but the only word he could get out was a feeble, "Yeah."  
  
A quiet purring sound escaped Duo's throat. "I love when you say that word," he confessed as he stood up and placed the necklace around Heero's neck, reaching to clasp it shut. "And Heero, I've waited to hear you say you loved me for a very, very long time," he whispered, then gently kissed Heero's ear.  
  
"Why?" Heero murmured, wrapping his arms around Duo's waist as the taller boy sank onto his lap, facing him.  
  
Duo looked down into Heero's eyes. "Because for the last two years, I've been madly in love with you." And then they sealed their engagement with a kiss.  
  
Several blissful moments later, Duo pulled away and stood up, returning to his chart. "Okay. Now, Quatre will be my best man, and Trowa will be yours, right?" Heero nodded, fingering the golden chain that he had watched move against Duo's skin for so long. "When do you want to have the ceremony?"  
  
"I don't care."  
  
"Fine. We can discuss that later. Honeymoon location?" They looked at each other and said at the same moment, "Japan."  
  
Suddenly Duo grabbed the phone and hit a number on speed dial. He was silent, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. When they did, Heero watched the grin spread over his best friend- er, fiancé's face. "Q! Guess what! Better make that wedding count ten! It's finally my turn!" 


End file.
